13th June 2014

Drawing attention to Sri Lanka’s refusal to be represented at the the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, taking place in London this week, the British Foreign Office Minister of State, Hugo Swire called on Sri Lanka to explain their absence. “Clearly we would like Sri Lanka to be here, but they are not,” Mr Swire said, speaking to Tamil Guardian just before the ministerial dialogue session this morning. “I think countries that are not here need to explain to their communities why they are not,” he said, adding, “150 plus countries have signed up to this and its more a case of why aren’t you here than why are you here.” “Obviously we would like all countries to sign up to this,” he […]

Panel to probe allegations of atrocities during final stages of civil war between government forces and Tamil rebels. Colombo, Sri Lanka – The UN high commissioner for human rights has appointed a controversial official to coordinate probe into allegations of mass killings in the final stages of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war. Navi Pillay, the high commissioner for human rights, has appointed Sandra Beidas – who is accused of writing false reports about the conduct of the military in South Sudan – to coordinate the investigation team. Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), told Al Jazeera via email that Beidas would “coordinate the investigation team”. Sri Lanka has said that it would not co-operate with the investigation that is expected […]

11 June 2014 Last updated at 00:34 BST Padded up and steeled for action in a suburban league in Sydney, Ocean 12 are a sporting team like no other. The team is made up of Tamil asylum seekers, released from immigration detention on temporary visas and competing for a place in the finals of a global cricket competition. But ultimate victory lies beyond the game of cricket, and in the hands of the immigration authorities who will decide if they can stay permanently and build a new life in Australia. Phil Mercer reports. Read more Australia asylum seekers find refuge in cricket

A number of human rights activist have joined together at an event at the Canadian High Commissioner’s Landon residence last night to give their voices to Sri Lankan rape victims. The event was organised by the The International Truth and Justice Project. This is a project led by the human rights activist and former UN expert panel member on Sri Lanka Yasmin Sooka. They are the authors of the report “Stop Torture“ which documents the case that sexual violence continues to be used systematically in Sri Lanka as a tool of oppression. It documented the cases of 40 Tamil men and women who had been raped by Sri Lankan security forces between 2010 and 2014. Watch the videos; Jenni Murray – Opening https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/video-voices-against-sri-lankan-rape-last-night-at-canadian-high-commissioners-residence/

The Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference (SATAC) 2014 was held in Riyadh recently. The event also featured the Gaveliers’ International Speech Contest in which Adnan Niyas, a 10th grader at Jeddah’s Sri Lankan International School bagged the first prize. “The main objective of including a Gaveliers’ competition at SATAC 2014 was to enhance and promote the public speaking talents of youngsters for school gavel clubs,” said Mohan Kumar, a toastmaster and a member of SATAC. “It was a fantastic presentation,” said Kumar, commenting on Adnan’s achievement. “Starting from club level, he managed to pass through division level and successfully reached district level-which is the final stage in the Kingdom and I congratulate him on his success.” “SATAC 2014 has been nothing short of an opportune […]

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council tells The Hindu that he has not been able to do much even after six months after the historic elections More than six months after the historic elections to Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council, its first Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran says he has not been able to do much, for his hands are tied. From a reluctant entrant to Sri Lankan politics to Chief Minister who won a massive mandate in the elections, it has been quite a journey for the former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Reflecting on developments post elections, he says heavy militarisation across the province has made even basic administration a daunting task in the region that continues to […]

With less than a month before the UN investigation is officially launched, the Government is still grappling with how to respond to one of its most existential crises After months of stony silence on the subject, President Mahinda Rajapaksa finally addressed the question of a controversial UN investigation his Government will be facing during a function in Medirigiriya, Polonnaruwa on Tuesday. And he passed the buck. It will be Parliament that will be the final decider on Sri Lanka’s cooperation with the UN investigators, President Rajapaksa said, since it was in the Legislature that the people’s will resided. “They want to come here and investigate things. They want to dig this and dig that. They want to go everywhere. To find out if we have […]

The hatred has been growing since 1948, the longer Sri Lankan Government ignore the real issues; but play the race and religion cards to win elections the harder to solve the country’s problem. We don’t see any political commitment forthcoming instead we see looming large another ethnical conflict that could even disastrous than LTTE. President Rajapaksa regime should implement the 13th amendment ASAP. If that doesn’t work, let the Tamils go in their own separate way as Malaysia did to Singapore in 1965. I rather see Tamils and Sinhalese moving forward as Malaysians and Singaporeans; instead of fighting and destroying each others. Sri Lanka says humanitarian crises can be overcome with political commitment By Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva June 13, 2014 […]